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Going backin time with Laxmikant’s Pyarelal

Going back in time with Laxmikant’s Pyarelal-Article by Patchy N taken from Rediffindia-mohanflora

Laxmikant-Pyarelal made songs that youngsters hum even today. Numbers like Om shanti om, Darde dil (Karz), Hansta hua noorani chehra (Parasmani) and Jumma Chumma (Hum) are played on the radio even today.After Laxmikant died in 1998, Pyarelal stopped making music and retired from the limelight.

Now, after almost a decade, the famed music composer is back doing what he does best — making beautiful music. He’s been approached to compose music for two films — Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om, starring Shah Rukh Khan, and a Subhash Ghai film.

“Vishal-Shekhar came to me; they wanted LP’s music,” Pyarelal said. “They wanted me to do just one song — the type of music that was played in the 1970s; a retro song. They had made the tune but wanted the LP trademark in it.”

“One of the reasons I accepted their offer was the importance given to acoustic instruments,” the composer continued. “There is nothing electronic in this song.”

Hard timesFor Pyarelal, the journey from his childhood to where he is now has not been easy.
Born on September 3, 1940, Pyarelal lost his mother at an early age. His father Pandit Ramprasad played the trumpet but wanted his son to learn the violin.

He still remembered the times his father would take him to people’s homes whenever he needed money. Pyarelal’s innocent face always drew sympathy. One day, his father took him to Lata Mangeshkar’s home, and she gave them Rs 500, a big amount at that time.

Pyarelal, who started training at the age of eight, would practice for ten hours every day. At the age of 12, he got a job at Mumbai’s Ranjit studio as a violinist in an orchestra. He would get Rs 85 a month, and soon became the bread winner of the family.

He enrolled into a night school but when he was in the seventh grade, he could not afford the Rs 3 monthly fee. So he left the school.

From a young age, Pyarelal was very ambitious. He wanted to make a name for himself and wanted to travel to different countries. He liked western music as well.

“I joined a group called Madrigal singers to learn music. But I was not treated well, as I was a Hindu. Only Parsees and Christians were given a chance. I was allowed to play in rehearsals but not in concerts. But I had to learn so I stuck around,” he said.

“My father would felt bad about the treatment I got. So he decided to teach music to street children free of cost. He would actually pick up kids and beggars and bring them home. He must have taught around 1,500 children. He would take them to well-known musicians like Naushad,” Pyarelal recalled.

Another person who taught him violin was his guru Anthony Gonsalves, on whom he later composed a song, My name is Anthony Gonsalves in Amar Akbar Anthony.

Lifelong friendship

It was at the Ranjit studio that Pyarelal met his lifelong companion Laxmikant.

“Laxmikant was working with Pandit Husnlal Bhagatram. He was three years older to me. He would come sometimes to my place of work. After work, we would play cricket and discuss music. As we were from the same age group and our interests were similar, our friendship grew,” he said.

Pyarelal still has not forgotten their first big pay packet together.

“Sriramchandraji called me one day and told me he will give me good work. I told Laxmi about it. We worked together in Chennai for two and a half years on the film Devtaa starring Gemini Ganesan, Savitri and Vyjayantimala. That was the first time I saw Rs 6,000. I bought a gold ring worth Rs 1,200 for my father,” he beamed.

Pyarelal worked with almost every music composer except Shankar-Jaikishan and O P Nayyar. To this day, he wondered why they never called Laxmikant-Pyarelal despite Pyarelal once having played the violin in Shankar-Jaikishan’s office.

No differences

On speculations that Laxmikant was in charge of the artistic end while he took care of the business aspect, Pyarelal has this to say: “We would prepare a tune each and select the better of the two in the studio. Sometimes, we would sit together and make tunes; sometimes we thought of tunes from home that turned out to be similar. “Laxmi and me never made our differences in public. We would sort it out when we were alone. He was a better businessman than me. I was very short-tempered like my father. He would treat me with lots of love and care. I always think that the song Ek pyaar ka nagama hai from Shor is based on our life.

“Moreover, people often thought that Laxmikant Pyarelal was one name. When I was getting married, my wife’s relatives believed she was getting married to Laxmikant Pyarelal. Just Pyarelal did not mean anything to them,” he laughed.

Big break

Now that he was on his way to become the big man he dreamt to be, Pyarelal wanted to go to Vienna to join the Symphony Orchestra.

“I was a big fan of Yehudi Menuhin. I was so mad after him that I would wait in the crowds when he would come out from his concert and touch his feet when he is walking through the crowd. My dream was to settle abroad, marry an English woman and leave India permanently,” he says.

“But Laxmi convinced me to stay back. Raj (Kapoor) sahib once told Laxmi: You did two good things — you gave good music and you did not allow Pyare to go. Raj sahib loved me a lot,” he added.

When Pyarelal turned 20, the duo got their first film Hum Tum Aur Woh. But it never got released. Their next three films suffered the same fate. Their work was finally noticed and appreciated in their fifth movie, Parasmani. Their next film, Dosti, was a huge hit.

“During those days, you had to purchase a coupon to select a movie for a Filmfare award. One who can purchase most coupons could win the award. When Dosti was nominated, the other two films in contention were Sangam (Shankar-Jaikishan) and Woh Kaun Thi (Madan Mohan). But to our surprise, our film got the award,” he said.

Though Pyarelal gives Lata Mangeshkar the credit for their success, he dispels notions that they got their first break because of her.

“Actually, Lataji helped Laxmi get work with Pandit Husnlal Bhagatram. But she did not recommend our name to any producer or director. Of course, we would ask only Lataji to sing the women’s songs. We were a great admirer of her talent. Our only regret was Lataji could not sing in male voice!” he laughed.

“Lataji is versatile. Give her anything she would transform it into magic. She would never refuse to give us a date. She even worked in our low budget movies. I would stay at Lataji’s house if it got too late at work. I would sleep on a sofa in the living room. I was a good friend of Balasaheb (Hridyanath Mangeshkar, Lata’s brother),” he said.

Favourite singer

For Pyarelal, there is no better male singer than Mohammad Rafi. Kishore Kumar came a close second.

“My father had once taken me to Rafi sahib’s house to ask for money during our bad times,” he said. “When I became a composer, I worked with Rafi sahib and Lataji on the song Yeh dil tum bin lagta nahi hum kya kare. I remembered that I had to give Rs 500 to both of them. Rafi sahib didn’t recall giving me money, Lataji did. But they told me to keep the money as their blessing for me.

“Kishore Kumar would play pranks on everyone except us. As he entered the studio, he would sing hello Laxmikantam Pyarelalam. He always said that my biggest minus point is that I have a brother like Ashok Kumar. He is so talented,” he said.

“We assisted R D Burman in Bhoot Bangla and Chote Nawab. We would compete professionally but in our personal life, we were friends. Once we were using James Bond music in Farz and R D was using the same music in Jewel Thief. When he came to know that we had already recorded five or six reels using the tune, he immediately cancelled it from his movie.

“I remember just before his death, we met at a wedding. He asked me if I had whisky. I told him I had some in my car. So we all drove around and drank whiskey. Laxmi and I were jobless then. R D told us that he had given music for a new movie, 1942 A Love Story. He said we would like the music. But he died before the release of the film. I get sentimental every time I hear the songs of that movie,” Pyarelal said.

Another person about whom Pyarelal does not fail to mention is composer Madan Mohan.

“I would always fool around with Madan Mohan though he was very senior to me. I would take down his musical notes and irritate him. But he would never say anything. One day, I arrived at 11 am for a 9 am recording. He scolded me in front of everybody. It was my mistake but still I walked out, and did not return for two days. On the second day, he called me and said that he would come and beat me if I did not come for recording. But instead of apologising, I said I wouldn’t come. Next day, his assistant called me and after much coaxing I relented. There was a lot of love between musicians, composers, and technicians… something you won’t see today,” he lamented.

Changing times

The veteran composer believes that copying music is common and that they tried to adapt to changing trends.

“There was a lot of pressure from actors and producers. For instance, the song Jumma chumma was in the movie Hum just because of the pressure from Amitabh Bachchan. Out of the 500 odd movies that we have done, we must have copied 50 songs because of pressure.

“We worked with various producers and directors but our favourite was Subhash Ghai. We got an award for Om shanti om from Karz,” he says.

Laxmikant’s demise did have its effect on Pyarelal but he was not disheartened. He was determined to recreate the magic they had weaved for decades.

“I never thought my right hand has gone; what would I do without him. I was strong enough. But I fell sick after his death. I used to drink a lot and chew tobacco. I was in bed for six years. Since then, I have given up alcohol. Now I am fine and work for six hours everyday. Within the next two years, you will again see Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s name on big screen again,” he said.

We’re waiting, Mr Pyarelal. Very eagerly.

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11 Blog Comments to “Going backin time with Laxmikant’s Pyarelal”

LP had never ruled hindi film music during the time of stalwarts like SJ,OPN,Naushad etc as has been claimed in some of the posts here. LP entered the fray when these giants had already retired or on the verge of retirement. The score of SJ in late 1960’s was still better but like every generation had its own taste and liking, LP music was liked by masses so was also of KA,RDB and SD. After 1970 only LP,RDB and KA were main players. LP may be commercially more successful or saleable but it does n’t mean that KA or RDB were anyway less talented in fact they produced better melody and quality songs than LP. Examples are Aaaradhna, Amar Prem, Safar, DON,Mukaddar ka Sikandar, carvan, Kora Kagaz etc. Dharmatma, qurbani etc.

Like Shankar Jaikishan took care of Rafi saab., LP ALSO never
forgot Rafi saab. It was LP VERSUS the Bengal lobby in the
seventies but Rafi saab overcame the KK wave and was on top
again – thanks to LAXMIKANT-PYARELAL.

LAXMIKANT PYARELAL AND MOHAMMED RAFI WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN EACH OTHERS SUCCESS. NOT THAT RAFISAAB WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT LP BUT THIS LETHAL COBINATION OF LP WITH RAFI CREATED THE GOLDEN ERA OF MUSIC.

PROBABLY THE DUO OF SHANKAR JAIKISHAN WERE THE ONES WHO GAVE THE TYPICAL COMMERCIAL TOUCH TO HINDI FILM MUSIC WHICH WAS THEN CARRIED FORWARD BY L-P AT ITS PEAK IN THE 80’S.

I AM A GREAT FAN OF SHANKAR-JAIKISHAN, LAXMIKANT -PYARELAL, RAFISAHAB AND LATAJI. I WAS SAD THAT THE WORLD HAD FORGOTTEN THESE LEGENDS AND THEY ARE NOT HOUNOURED BY THE FILM INDUSTRY.
NOW IS THE AGE OF THE RESHMIYAS, SHANKAREHSAANLOYS,VISHAL SHEKHARS AND OTHERS WHO DONT LAST FOR MORE THAN COUPLE OF YEARS.

IT WOULD BE WORTHWILE MENTIONING HERE THAT L-P RULED OVER HE INDUSTRY FOR MORE THAN 3 DECADES WHICH IS NOT EASY PARTICULARLY CONSIDERING THAT THEY HAD STIFF COMPETITION FROM KALYANJI ANANDJI, RDBURMAN, SHANKAR JAIKISHAN, RAJESH ROSHAN, RAVI, MADAN MOHAN AND OTHERS. THE SUCESS OF THIS DOU LIES IN THE FACT THEY KEPT ON CHANGING THEIR STYLE OF COMPOSING SONGS WITH TIME AND EVEN SINGERS LIKE SHABBIR KUMAR WON FILM FARE AWARD FOR THEIR SONGS FOR
PYAR JHUKTA NAHIN.

I AM REALLY VERY HAPY TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE ATLEAST SOME FANS LIKE ME WHO REMEMBER THESE LEGENDS.NOW I UNDERSTAND THAT PYARELALJI IS GOING TO COMPOSE FOR SUBHASH GHAI’S FORTHCOMING FILM. I AM SURE THAT ONCE AGAIN THE NAME OF L-P WILL SHINE.

Muhammad Rafi was an outstanding singer and one of the most influential playback singers that our part of the world has ever produced, a voice which captured millions of heartâ€™s and whose songs touched all generations.

This is the second time that I am going to comment about the master, who I had the privilege as a child to watch on stage at Bradfordâ€™s St Georgeâ€™s Hall, West Yorkshire [UK]. I actually grew up listening to his melodious voice as it soared all around me, whether I was watching a movie or listening to the radio set.

There came a time in my life when I was just ten years old, that I got the chance of watching Muhammad Rafi [The Legend] live on stage and in person performing live to a captivated audience. I had to be forced to go by one of my family friends who had bought 2 tickets for us both, so he literally had to twist my arm into going with him.

However whilst attending the gig I was totally baffled at what I had just experienced on stage, he was right ahead of meâ€¦ yes Muhammad Rafi Sahab singing live. He kicked off the show with â€˜Bari Door Se Aaye Hainâ€™, followed by many of his recent hits and past famous songs such as â€˜Hum Bekhudi Main Sanamâ€™, â€˜Parda Hai Pardaâ€™, â€˜Hum To Chale Pardesâ€™, â€˜Kiya Hua Tera Vaadaâ€™, â€˜Sar Par Topi Lal Rumalâ€™, â€˜O Duniya Ke Rakhwaleâ€™, â€˜Punjabi trackâ€™, and some other hits.

Itâ€™s been a long time now and for a ten year old itâ€™s very hard to remember, but I never ever forgot that memorable night as some of itâ€™s contents were captured onto one of those old movie cameras. Which were later distributed onto vhs tapes in the 80â€™s and sold for ridiculous high prices to anyone interested in buying a copy.

My dear father bought himself a copy of that recording which Iâ€™ve watched innumerable times over the last 25 years or so, but my vhs tape is failing me now in 2007. So I am going to have itâ€™s contents transferred onto dvd format, once I manage to grab myself a good machineâ€¦ itâ€™s been over 2 months now since my last post in December 2006, but would you believe it â€“ Iâ€™m still looking for one.

Once itâ€™s been transferred entirely all onto dvd quality format, I can then distribute it by offering it to any buyers who will be interested in buying themselves a rare recording of the legendary Muhammad Rafi live in concert. Before all that I would like to put some clips on you tube first, just to give you a small little taste of whatâ€™s to come in the near future.

people mostly say about KK with RD but I think LP used KK better than RD.
P from LP said once at zee tv that they became at the top because of Mohd Rafi.please listen to Mohd Rafi songs in 1970’s who said that Mohd Rafi was not at the top in 1970’s.

I have always been great admirer of LP for his contribution during 70s when for short period of time Rafi was not in the lime light LP never ignored Rafi and keep on using his talent and stand-by the association developed during Dosti (1964) and composed different tunes (that are among my favourite songs) like Nazar Na Lag Jaiye “Night in London”; Apne Nainon Ko Samjha De Rafi-Lata “Maa Aur Mamta”; Wo Hain Zara Khafa Khafa Rafi-Lata, Bade Mian Deewane Rafi-Mannadey “Shagird”; Aawara manjhi “Pyasi Shaam” Aayi Baharon Ki Shaam “Wapas”. These are the one that are bit different than other songs from films like Khilona, Anjana, Jeene Ki Raah and many more. Among rare hits I would like to mention a song that might most of Raffian’s fan would not aware of i.e. Gulshan-Gulshan Pyar Ki Baten Hain -Rafi-Lata from film “Do Ladkiyan” in this song when Rafi Saab Says ‘Kya Rakha Hai Pyar Ki Is Jhuti Daastan Me Jhute Hote Hain Sab Mehboob Is Jahan Ke’ creates an impact that only Rafi can do and two songs from films ” Do Bhai” & “Chahat” Rafi-Asha (A Hum Ahde-wafa Kar Lein) & ( Hamen Tum Se Tumen Hum Se Shiqaayat Ho To Aisi Ho).

THANK YOU MR. MOHAN FLORAJI AND MR. PATCHY N FOR THE ARTICLE ON LAXMIKANT & PYARELAL .
THERE ARE SOME MUSIC DIRECTORS WHOSE NAMES INSTANTLY REMIND US -THEIR EXCELLENT ASSOCIATION WITH RAFI SAHAB FOR CREATING MELODIOUS SONGS . LAXMIKANT PYARELAL IS ONE OF THEM .
IN VIEW OF THIS ARTICLE , I AM WRITING DOWN A PORTION OF AN ARTICLE ( BY MEERA JOSHI) WHICH I HAVE READ IN A FILMFARE MAGAZINE . IT GOES LIKE THIS :
‘ LAXMIKANT SAID “WE ASSIGN THE CREDIT OF OUR FIRST FILMFARE AWARD TO MOHD. RAFI . WE WERE COMPETING WITH RAJ KAPOOR’S Sangam. WE WOULDN’T HAVE WON THE AWARD FOR Dosti BUT FOR RAFISAAB ! WHEN WE FIRST TUNED THE LYRICS, WE HAD A FEMALE SINGER IN MIND . WHEN WE WERE INFORMED THAT RAFISAAB WOULD BE SINGING THE SONG, WE WERE ALARMED . WE WERE TOO RAW, WE DIDN’T KNOW THAT A SLIGHT CHANGE IN LYRICS COULD MAKE IT INTO A MALE SONG. WE WERE ON THE VERGE OF SCRAPPING THE SONG. BUT RAFISAAB REACTED SO POSITIVELY TO ” Chahunga main tujhe” AT THE REHEARSAL THAT WE WERE NOT ONLY FLATERED BUT FLOORED .’
LAXMIKANTJI ALSO REVEALED THAT – ONCE RAFI SAHAB RECORDED SIX SONGS IN A DAY FOR THEM – 2 FOR Anjam , 1 FOR Maa Aur Mamta , 2 FOR Man Ki Ankhen AND 1 FOR Pyasi Shyam . LAXMIKANT SAID ” IMAGINE , RAFI SAHAB COULD MEMORISE SIX SONGS IN DAY ! AND RAFI SAHAB COULD DO THIS AT LIVE RECORDINGS AND NOT THROUGH THE EASY DUBBING METHOD THAT’S ON TODAY . ”

WISHING ALL THE BEST TO MR PYARELALJI AND HOPE THE NAME ” LAXMIKANT – PYARELAL ” KEEPS ON SHINING AGAIN.

Dear Mohan Floraji,
Nice and lovely article. Full credit goes to the team of LP to have been with Rafi Sahab from the Parasmani, Dosthi days to the last few days of immortal Rafi sahab in Aaspaas.
In fact due to LP domination that other MDs like R.D.Burman had to use Rafi Sahab after few years of absence during the Rajesh Khanna days of early 70s.
Incredible but it is true that Lataji n Rafi sahab remained the duos favourite singer till the last date.They were instrumental in giving the best of the duets like Shanker Jaikishens in the 50s and 60s with the bollywoods best playback singers Rafi sahab n Lataji.
P.Narayanan